Chinese director Zhang Hanyi takes an unexpected turn with his latest feature film effort, “The Walking Bird,” which makes its appearance as an in-development project at the Hong Kong – Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF), which takes place alongside the FilMart rights market.
His previous film, 2017’s “Dragonfly Eyes,” was one of the most unusual and stylish films of the year from anywhere in the world. It told a disturbing (fictional) narrative through extraordinary found-footage obtained from hundreds of real-world CCTV cameras, and won the FIPRESCI and Ecumenical Jury prizes at the Locarno Festival that year.
While playing in a different register, “The Walking Bird” may be no less sinister.
“The story focuses on a 28-year-old woman who has difficulty handling the changes in her life. She returns to her hometown, faces up to her past and to her family and learns that her grandmother had used a special method to commit a murder. The woman learns the details and takes revenge on her father,” Zhang tells Variety.
And while Zhang is not prepared at this stage to divulge the gory details, he makes no secret of his literary inspiration: “Portrait of the Cassowary,” a short story by Argentinian writer Julio Cortazar.
Flightless, aggressive and standing two meters tall, with razor-sharp claws and the ability to jump, the cassowary is an Australian native that has the reputation of being the most dangerous bird in the world. Cortazar describes the cassowary as possessing “suspicious contempt” and “terrifying strength.”
“Cortez’s language is very evocative and attractive. I was inspired to find out more and, for my research, went to Beijing Zoo where there is a cassowary. Having seen it for real, my story took on a new direction,” says Zhang.
“My film is definitely a drama, but with overtones of fantasy. And, where with ‘Dragonfly Eyes’ I was restricted to the images provided by the surveillance footage, with ‘The Walking Bird’ I have no such restrictions. I can explore and invent. The production will use mainly handheld cameras and wide shots.”
Ma Xiaotian, who is a lecturer at the Shanxi Film Academy and general coordinator of the Pingyao Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon Film Festival Market, is set at Zhang’s producer. She came on board in 2021 at concept stage and has overseen first drafts of the screenplay as well the project’s early appearance at the HAF Lab. (Along with HAF 2023 participants “A Better Tomorrow” and “Kapok,” “The Walking Bird” was one of 12 projects that participated in the 2022 edition of the HAF Lab lectures, a training and consultation program.)
“The inputs and guidance from the Lab mentors were helpful to both the writing and for our production plan,” Ma tells Variety.
The cold wind that has blown through the Chinese film industry over the past few years has especially hurt the independent sector.
“Fewer independent films were able to attract investors, even on small budgets,” says Ma. “Now with policy seemingly unlocked and films returning to theaters, we can be hopeful of change. We have raised half of the production finance already and will attend HAF in the hope of raising the remainder, ahead of a planned shoot in August in Ningbo.”